Put a Little Drama in your Life
Pat Launer, Center Stage on KSDS JAZZ88 May 29, 2015 Everyone is adrift in “The Whale.” Each character is flailing, drowning, in Samuel D. Hunter’s deep, moving and multilayered drama. They feel abandoned, disenchanted or betrayed. The play is laced with symbolism and allegory. The Whale of the title is not just its 600-pound centerpiece, Charlie, who’s been eating himself to death since the devastating demise of his tortured Mormon boyfriend. There are multiple references to Read More →
PAT LAUNER TIMES OF SAN DIEGO 5/26/15 It took 30 years for the beloved movie musical to make it to the stage, but the theatrical version of “Singin’ in the Rain” maintains all the familiar songs and characters and story. And the expected fabulous dancing. But, as presented by San Diego Musical Theatre (directed by Todd Nielsen), it feels choppy and episodic, with unnecessarily slow scene changes, overly elaborate sets and a sense that nearly every song is unmotivated, Read More →
Pat Launer, Center Stage on KSDS JAZZ88 May 22, 2015 What could be better than punching holes in the grandiosity of the rich, the absurdity of war and the inanity of romanticized ideals of love? Having all this skewering come from the witty, acid-dipped pen of George Bernard Shaw, that’s what. “Arms and the Man,” which premiered in 1894, is an early work by the brilliant Irish playwright, founder of the London School of Economics. It’s Read More →
Pat Launer, Center Stage on KSDS JAZZ88 May 15, 2015 When I heard that the Welk Theatre was doing “Cabaret,” I thought, ‘This is gonna be a squeaky-clean, watered-down version with no sex or drugs. Both are intrinsic to the superb Kander and Ebb musical set in 1931 Berlin, on the cusp of the Nazi takeover. Well, I’m happy to say, it’s an outstanding production, which the theater itself rates PG-13. There’s plenty of innuendo and Read More →
Pat Launer, Center Stage on KSDS JAZZ88 May 8, 2015 All teenagers feel like they don’t belong. It’s part of the job description. Perhaps their concern is weight or zits, under- or over-development. In the case of Cari Gonzalez, it’s a Mexican accent. She was born in the U.S., but after her mother died, her father whisked her away to Mexico. Now she’s back in Ohio, about to turn 15, and all she wants is for Read More →
Pat Launer, Center Stage on KSDS JAZZ88 May 1, 2015 It’s all about identity. Who are we, and how are we shaped – and shaken up – by circumstance? The title character of Rajiv Joseph’s “Mr. Wolf” possesses all the ominous danger of the predator he’s named for. At first, he seems an avuncular astronomy Read More →